Originally Posted by
osnap
oh are we taking this angle? hmmmm... ok, i'll play.
Car and Driver
“...what cars could compete with Honda’s new hot rod? ... Mazda MX-5 creeps close to S2000 price territory, but the Honda would eat it for lunch and not even bother to spit out the bones. Similarly, ... BMW Z3, and more potent 2.8..– don’t have the snort to tangle with this new tiger from Tochig.” The S2000 goes on to beat the Mercedes-Benz SLK, BMW M Roadster, and Porsche Boxster in this comparison article of much higher priced sports cars.
“Its fabulous engine aside, the element that really puts the S2000 on a higher handling plane is its chassis. The Honda’s structure provides a textbook example of how to achieve exemplary rigidity in a roofless unit body, and it may very well be the stiffest roadster chassis on earth.” “A purist’s sports car, and an extraordinary performance buy.”
Hot Compacts & Imports
“Honda’s Little Miracle” “… that’s 2 hp per cubic inch, or the same output found in a NHRA Pro Stock car.” “... because the S2000 is a Honda, you can expect it to perform with race car intensity every day for years. Heck, with proper maintenance it might live longer than you.”
Edmunds – first drive review
“VTEC kicks in, activating a different set of camshaft profiles. The S2000 magically transforms from vanilla roadster to kamikaze attack plane. Scenery in the windshield whizzes by like somebody suddenly hit the VCR fast-forward button. By the noise, you swear you’re going to blow it up. Time to shift. ... As the engine continues to warp upwards towards 9,000, the snarling and exhaust plumb into your gut and buzz up to your brain. Take the sound of an Integra GS-R engine, add some Honda CBR 900RR motorcycle and a dash of Jordan/Mugen Formula One race car, and you have something close to the sound of the S2000. It’s a feeling that you’re getting away with something truly special.” “As a streetable race car, the Honda S2000 excels.”
Los Angeles Times
“Go figure your chances of walking into your nearest dealer and beating the elbow-shoving to get dibs on an S2000, probably the spunkiest, most satisfying mainstream sports car since the 1962 Porsche 356B.” “Many manufacturers brag of race-inspired engineering. Most of it is race-inspired hype and hyperbole involving old mechanicals barely brushed by racing. Not Honda. When its engineers, even its advertising department, talk of the race-bred technology of the S2000, the reference is to a direct borrowing from Honda-powered cars and victories.”
Newsday
“In all, the S2000 is exactly what Honda intended it to be: A true sports car in the traditional vein for a special few drivers.”
Washington Post
“The S2000 is everything a sports car ought to be – fun, powerful, nimble, and magical in its ability to transport both soul and body to a better place.”
Kansas City Star
“... its 240 horsepower screams like a caged cat. This may be a small package but it packs a good-sized punch. If it surprises you to find Honda and sports car in the same sentence, consider this: Honda racing engines have repeatedly been champions.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“The open-top roadster from the ‘60s is back with a vengeance in the all-new Honda S2000 ... this Honda roadster brings back the best of the open-top sports cars of the ‘60s but with some ‘90s comforts that don’t spoil the package. Power and road-handling are superb, styling is eye-catching, and driving the S2000 is a dream.”
Road & Track
“The S2000's 64.0 mph romp through the slalom is among the best we’ve ever seen.”
Road & Track Road Test Annual 2001
“No question, Honda has bragging rights, having produced the first 2.0-liter production-car capable of 9000 RPM-and producing an astonishing 120 bhp/liter in the process, with piston speeds that exceed those in Formula 1 racing …The S2000 was able to dance through corners the fastest and with the least amount of effort …” beating the lap times of the Boxster S ($54,300), BMW M ($43,700), and Audi TT ($43,000).
Automobile magazine
“...the perfect roadster.”
Top Gear
“... if the Boxster wins hearts in the showroom, it's the Honda that will win souls on the road.” The English road tester, Vicki Butler Henderson, went on to buy one and she's now on her second one.
About Cars Test Drive
“Driving the 2001 Honda S2000 is the closest I’ll ever come to being in the pilot’s seat of a vintage Formula One car.”
Automotive-Review.com, tester -Bettencourt
“... I’m just blown away by the way the thing feels from the driver’s office . . . this is not another half-sporting, half-luxury poseur convertible. This is a serious driving machine.”
Automotive-Review.com, tester - LaFave
“This is it! If you’ve ever dreamed of a racecar for the street this is it. Perhaps not in terms of outright acceleration or equipment details but in every other respect it is; brakes, suspension, transmission and 9000 RPM redline…. The brakes and the transmission shifter are unequivocally the best I have ever used. … Did I mention this is the most fun car I’ve ever driven!”
Road & Track.com
“If early impressions count, the S2000-priced at around $32,000-may well be the cause of some sleepless nights in Germany.”
Edmund’s Review.com
“It’s all about the little red button...labeled engine start, the button reflects the racing heritage found in the S2000 roadster … an excellent alternative to the BMW Z3, the Mercedes-Benz SLK, and the Porsche Boxster. Out of that group, the S2000 is the most performance-oriented.”
Edmund’s 2000 Roadster Comparison Test
“First Place. Who’da thunk a Honda could inspire such passion. … Well, we did, it does, and this was a test of roadsters with more than 200 horsepower costing less than $50,000,..” (Tested against BMW M, Audi TT, MB SLK 320, and Porsche Boxster base model)
Car & Driver 10 Best List
“the S2000 is wasted on summer evening jaunts to the local A&W. The S2000 is a unique and seductive tool for speed ... to produce tenacious and tolerant handling that makes even ham-handed and -footed drivers fell like F1 ace Michael Schumacher.”
Detroit Free Press
“You could observe that the Mazda Miata still offers satisfying performance for a lot less money -- about $10,000 less. Which is true, as far as it goes. But from a performance point of view, it's the equivalent of comparing an Olympic sprinter with the hero of the high school track team.”
The Auto Channel
“(S2000) … is one of the most important cars of the present day. Why? This little technological tour- de-force points to the future. And the future as indicated by the S2000 is a very good place.”
Cars and Bikes (Tokyo)
“I've tested the Nissan GTR racing type car and though it's in the same class of performance as the S-2000, it lacked the ‘fits-like-a-glove’ interior, open top and just wasn't the fun this Honda was - at two million yen more in price. The only Japanese car that comes close is another Honda, the NSX racing type, but with its price tag of around ten million yen it's out of reach for most of us.”
Honda Tuning
“There are some cars that seem perfect straight from the factory. The Porsche 911 Turbo, Ferraris, McLarens, Aston Martins... The Honda S2000 is arguably one of these vehicles.”
Forbes
“... and its all-too-willing 240 horsepower engine cranks out more juice per cylinder than a $169,000 Ferrari 360 Modena.”
Cars.com
“Once it reaches 5,000 RPM or so, the S2000 lunges forward like a virtual rocket, its engine screaming passionately through each step of the close-ratio six-speed gearbox. As if acceleration prowess weren’t enough, razor-sharp steering, disciplined handling talents and athletic cornering ability blend with excellent braking capacity to produce a driving experience that approaches racing car level. It’s really no surprise since the S2000 looks as if it’s ready to whip onto a racetrack somewhere.”
New Car Net
“The Honda S2000 is … clothed in a sleek, sporty body. Its traditional configuration is underpinned by innovative, race-bred technology.” “S2000 –– a two-seater that redefines the essence of sports car motoring.”
USA Today
“The highly tuned engine, already yowling like a beast at 7,000 RPM, slides into a different dimension as it closes on the 9,000-RPM danger point. Deeper than primal, it feels as if the buzz, the excitement, is coming not from the car, but from within your skull, perhaps your soul.”
The New York Times
“If roadsters can cure a midlife crises, this may be a good time to have one. Take it out once and you’ll drive it in your dreams.”
Sport Compact Car
“The S2000 feels like nothing less than a Formula Ford with bodywork. … If you’ve driven an Elan (Lotus), you’ve got a good idea what to expect here. Paring knife reflexes, peaky power band, toggle switch shifting. Chapman’s dream is all-present in the new Honda. The only thing missing are the leaks and the breakage. You’ll have to supply those yourself.”
Car (UK) magazine
“This is one of the great engines. Definitely top 10, probably top 3.”
Nashville Scene
“I will boldly defy any genuine aficionado – particularly one with road racing experience – not to fall head-over-heels in forbidden, Lolita-lust love with this champing, snorting filly of a classic roadster.”
Motorweek
“On its performance merits alone, the Honda S2000 stacks up well against the likes of the Porsche Boxster and BMW Z3. But consider also its $32,415 base price, and the S2000 becomes a screaming performance car bargain.”
AutoWeek
"Some around here call the S2000 the best Honda ever. Whether you agree or not, most at least believe the little roadster has already carved out a chapter for itself in the annals of future classic car-dom. And it's done that in less than three years on the market ... the S2000 -- because it existed at all -- is legendary already."
Automobile magazine
“... European rivals such as Porsche, BMW, and Audi charge thousands more for this level of performance, although they also provide a far more comprehensive complement of amenities as part of the basic package. You want aesthetics? Buy a TT. Pure performance at a reasonable price? The S2000 tops the charts.”
Consumers Reports
"Our top-rated roadster, the Honda S2000, slightly outscored the Corvette and Boxster in our tests and has excellent reliability.”
Auto Extremist
“... the S2000 is sensational, ... they {Honda} just keep rolling along doing great things as part of their SOP (standard operating procedure).”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“What you can call it is what it obviously is: a mobile museum of Honda’s virtuosity in product engineering.”
Autopilot (Russia)
“Visualize that you (have) saddled (a) storm or water spout...”
Kansas City Star
“… diehard performance drivers will relish its cat-quick reflexes and giant-killer engine.”
Edmunds (road test follow up - 2002)
“And as long as Honda continues to build the S2000, we’ll be sure to save a spot for Honda right next to the prancing horse (Ferrari) and checkered flags (Corvette) next time we’re out for a midday cruise down PCH (Pacific Coast Highway).”
Straight - SIX
“You say you're into sports cars? You say you are truly hardcore? Put your money where your mouth is and step up to S2000 ownership. The rarified 9000-RPM redline of the 2.0 liter naturally aspirated screamer is truly addictive, and the twitchy rear end will test your oversteering reflexes to the max. The finest four-cylinder engine in the world.”
They rated the car 6 points on a 6-point scale.
Drive.com (Aust)
"VERDICT: If the S2000 doesn't win every car award this year, the judges should pack up and go home."
Motor Trend
“Imagine if Formula One engineers built a sports car. Well, they did.”
Porsche (via R&T)
“... I dialed up Porsche for a test Boxster (99 percent of the time a successful shake-down). Only to be told, Sorry, but no. No? I couldn’t believe my ears. Apparently, Porsche was suddenly being hit up by every car magazine in the country asking for Boxsters, which could be due to only one thing: the Honda S2000's becoming available to the press.
lol...
A damn novel!!
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